


hey brother (do you still believe in one another?)

by LMoriarty



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Light Angst, but other than that idk, definitely pre-s3 finale, the angst is... debatably present, this was written pre-s4 ergo it is set pre-s4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 18:07:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19431325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LMoriarty/pseuds/LMoriarty
Summary: Of all his siblings, for he had a great deal of them, even Lucifer had to admit that Gabriel was his favorite.But that didn't mean he wanted to see him. Didn't mean he wanted to be near him, or hear from him, orbe in an interrogation room with him; that didn't mean he was okay with this, at all, even a little bit.Because he wasn't.And yet Gabriel was still there.





	hey brother (do you still believe in one another?)

**Author's Note:**

> i picked the title like two seconds before clicking post so... it may change. 
> 
> i started writing this march 21st 2018 and tbh i probably finished around the same time but then i forgot about it, so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ here it is, over a year late! to any fellow canadians, happy canada day! ~~vote for the ndp in our upcoming election~~

Today was a great day.

The sun was shining, and Chloe looked stunning. What could be better?

"Hello, detective," he said, pleasantly. There were a stack of files on her desk — perhaps five or so — which Lucifer was intrigued by. As far as he knew, they didn't have any cases at the moment. Perhaps something had occurred the night before, or earlier that morning?

Chloe looked up for all of a second before turning her attention back to her computer, which was awfully rude of her. "Hi," she said, which was less rude, though she still wasn't looking at him. "You have a visitor."

"A visitor?" repeated Lucifer, mildly delighted. He hadn't been expecting anyone. Perhaps he had a stalker? It'd been a while since his last one, so he supposed it wasn't an unreasonable assumption.

Chloe, eyes still distracted, pointed across the floor to one of the interrogation rooms. "All of the conference rooms were busy."

He looked behind him. Lucifer didn't think that was a very good excuse — he hadn't thought that was even possible, actually — but Lucifer didn't particularly mind; he was rather at home in interrogation rooms, after all the time he's spent in them. Lucifer walked across the room with quick, fluid steps. He was not a fan of wasting time, unless sex was involved, in which case he could think of nothing better.

Without much thought, he opened the door and slipped inside. "What can I do for—" Lucifer stopped dead. No. No way.

Not a fucking chance.

"You're not pleased to see me?"

The man inside was shorter than him, though not substantially. He had brown hair; dark, though not as dark as Lucifer's. He was less than Lucifer in every way possible, yet he was still fucking _there_.

His brother.

 _Gabriel_. 

Of all his siblings, for he had a great deal of them, even Lucifer had to admit that Gabriel was his favorite.

But that didn't mean he wanted to see him. Didn't mean he wanted to be near him, or hear from him, or _be in an interrogation room with him_ ; that didn't mean he was okay with this, at all, even a little bit.

Because he wasn't. 

And yet Gabriel was still there.

The worst part was that he looked _fine_. Gabriel looked like the Rebellion had never happened, like their family hadn't been ripped apart, like he was _happy_. Lucifer, as content as he was, couldn't help but resent him for it. Because that could've been him. If they had just _listened_ to him, that could've been him. 

"What do you want?" Lucifer leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. He didn't want Gabriel here, and he hoped it showed.

Gabriel smiled, faintly. "You," he said. "It's been a long time, brother. Heaven is different, now. _We_ are different, and it's time for you to come home." Regardless of his tranquil appearance, he sounded confident, like he truly thought Lucifer would return, easy as that. As if a _fragment_ of change could undo the eons of isolation, the years of suffering, the _pain_ of Falling. As if Lucifer was, instead, still Samael, Angel of Death, ruthless and unquestioning of Father's orders.

He could never be that person again. Wouldn't want to, even if he could.

"Sorry, I'm not for sale," Lucifer countered, with just the right balance of sarcasm and faux sorrow. "Try again next year and all that jazz." He pushed off of the wall, brushing imaginary lint off of his suit. "Have a nice," Lucifer waved his hand in the air, gesturing something neither angel could fully comprehend, "whatever."

He twisted around to leave the room, but Gabriel grabbed his wrist, grip iron tight. "It was not a request, brother."

Lucifer whirled around, tugging his hand back to his side. Iron had nothing on the Devil. "You sound more and more like Michael with each passing moment, _brother_ ," he said. "Let me make myself very clear, Gabriel: I will not be returning to Heaven, no matter what you say or think or do."

Gabriel blinked at him, startled. "Samael—"

"Samael is _dead_ ," Lucifer snarled, because how _dare_ he. "He Fell and burned and _died_ , and he's _gone_. He's gone, and I'm all that's left." He gestured towards his entire body. "And you have to admit, it's working out pretty well for me."

Now looking uncomfortable, Gabriel shifted from one foot to the other. "Everyone else is home. Everyone but," Gabriel glanced away, "you. I just thought— Dad wanted—"

"Father's little messenger, always and forever, aren't you?" scoffed Lucifer. "Some things never change."

Gabriel swallowed. "I just..." he stared at the floor. "I miss you. I want my brother to come back. To come _home_."

Lucifer looked at him, for a very long moment. There were so many things that he could say to that, most of them exceptionally cruel, and he... wanted to. Wanted to be say them, wanted to be mean, to make Gabriel hurt as much as _he_ hurt, to rip him to pieces.

But he was his brother.

His _favorite_ brother.

Lucifer sighed. "I am home," he told him, gentle as he could. "It's not Heaven, not where I was created. But I _am_ home, Gabriel. I'm..." he grimaced. "I'm sorry, but I can't go back. I don't belong there anymore, if I ever did at all."

Gabriel looked back up at him. His eyes were filled with unshed tears, and something inside of Lucifer twisted at the sight. Confidence gone, he looked so _young_. "Are you _sure_?"

"I am," said Lucifer, because he was.

"Okay," said Gabriel, quietly. "I understand. I'm sorry for bothering you, I promise I won't do it again. I—" he flushed red, though whether it was from embarrassment or anger Lucifer couldn't tell. "I should go. I'm sorry." 

Gabriel went to leave the room, the building, the city, the _planet_ , but Lucifer's arm jerked out without his consent, fingers wrapping around Gabriel's forearm. "You're still my brother," he said. "No matter how much I despise Father and Michael and— most of the angels, frankly. Regardless of all that. You're still my brother, Gabriel."

The tears welled back up. "But—"

"But nothing," Lucifer assured him. He reached out, only slightly hesitant, and placed his other hand down on Gabriel's shoulder. "As much as it may have hurt to not have you by my side during the Rebellion, I know you weren't by Michael's, either. I know you just wanted the fighting to stop. I understand."

"But you Fell," said Gabriel. His hands were shaking and Lucifer didn't know what to do, how to help; he had never been good at calming _anyone_ down, let alone Gabriel, who wore his emotions on his sleeve without regret, who cared so deeply and thoroughly that it nearly hurt himself. "And I was still there, in Heaven. I didn't leave. You should hate me just as much as you hate him— or _more_. Michael at least had the guts to pick a side, I just... stood in the middle and stared helplessly. I didn't _do_ anything."

"You didn't have to," Lucifer said. When he had walked into the interrogation room and seen Gabriel, he hadn't expected... this, any of it, the guilt that Gabriel felt, the _reason_ behind it. When Lucifer started the Rebellion, it was to gain free will, not to fracture his family, though he knows he only truly achieved the latter. "You know that, right? I never expected you to step in, not if you didn't want to."

"But—"

"Stop it with the buts," he interrupted. "Listen to me. During the Rebellion, nobody was on my side. _Nobody_. And that hurt, it did, but Gabriel— I'd rather fight alone than fight alongside people who didn't _want_ to fight. I can't speak for Michael and we both know that if I tried, I'd just insult him, but _I_ am _glad_ you weren't forced to get involved."

Gabriel seemed to crumble before his very eyes, the last remnants of the bravado and strength and sureness from before seeping away, leaving behind a man who was not truly a man, an angel without a purpose, a child searching for his big brother.

It had been _so long_ since Lucifer had felt in any way pleased to see another angel. To see another _brother_. Uriel had nearly ruined everything, Amenadiel had never truly been on Lucifer's side, not in any way that counted, but _Gabriel_ — his favorite brother, his _kindest_ brother, the only one that had ever _mattered_ —

Initial anger aside, explanations and demands disregarded, Lucifer was _happy_ to see him. Lucifer loved him, hadn't realized it at first but he _did_ , he fucking _did_.

"I realize," said Lucifer, hesitant but heart _bursting_ , beating as fast as his body would allow, nervous for the first time in a long time, "you only came here to... retrieve me. However. If you wanted to, perhaps, _stay_ —"

"I can't." 

He was careful not to let his face twitch, but Lucifer's heart plummeted to the bottom of his chest, withered up and died, fucking _shattered_. "Oh."

"No, I mean," Gabriel's hands fluttered around him, arms waving as he tried to come up with something, some kind of an explanation, "I want to. I do. I miss you, Luci, and I— you have to know that I _want_ to stay. But He told me to come here, to get you, to return. I can ignore the second step but I can't ignore the third as well."

Lucifer pondered that. "What if you listened to the second and ignored the third?" he countered. Was he being too obvious about how he wanted Gabriel to remain on Earth? Vulnerability had never been his strong suit. "You're here. You've got me. Just don't return."

Gabriel stilled, hands freezing mid-air. "I," he said, then stopped. "That seems. Possible. But Luce, if Dad gets upset— I know you're used to that. Sorry. But you are. And I... am not, and I know that's not fair to you, but I can't— I'm his Messenger. I'm _The_ Messenger."

"I was the Angel of Death," said Lucifer, because it was _true_ , because Gabriel can't use that as his justification, because he needed to make a _decision_ based on what he _wanted_. "God's Punisher. And we both know what my previous name meant: Venom of God, Poison of God, Blindness of God. I was the Favorite Son. All those titles, all those reasons to stay, and I left anyway."

"You were _thrown out_ —"

"Stop, before you say something I'll refuse to forgive you for, Gabe," he interrupted, because, okay, yes. He _was_ thrown out. Whatever. It was a sensitive subject. "You can say no, but say no because you don't want to stay. Don't do it for Father, or even for me. Make your own decision. Leave, or stay. Now."

Gabriel took a deep breath, pulling himself together. He stood up straighter, let his hands fold in front of him; allowed himself to look, just for a moment, like their Father, like _Lucifer_ , like someone patient and strong and _powerful_. For the first time since seeing him, Lucifer took note of what he was wearing; it was a suit, maybe Armani. He wondered where he got it, except—

Hm. It looked just a little too big for him, didn't it?

Like something that would fit _Lucifer_.

"I have spent millennia without you, Luci," said Gabriel. "And I've regretted that, for a really long time. _Hated_ myself for it, for not siding with you. Because I should've."

"No, come on—"

"Stop. Let me finish," he pleaded. "I need to say this, okay? I _should've_ sided with you. Free will is important, it's essential, you were _right_ and I _knew_ it and I didn't _do anything_. And I regret that. Because maybe if I had, you wouldn't have been kicked out. Maybe you would have won. Or maybe we both would've gone down, but that would've been fine, because we would've been _together_. Cause you— you were alone. For... a really long time. And I want to apologize for that, _regardless_ of whether or not you think it's necessary."

"I don't, but okay," he said. "You're forgiven. In case that wasn't clear." 

Gabriel managed a weak smile. "I don't know if I can stay. The truth is, I can't go against Dad the way you do; I wish I could but I can't. But. I'd like to meet your friends, if I can. Your—" he hesitated. "Family. Your family. Cause that's what they are, right? Not us, not," he gestured to the sky, "but them. The people you're with now."

"Yes," he said. Gabriel flinched, but his face spoke of understanding, of accepting. Lucifer knew he was misinterpreting the comment. "And you."

"What?"

"The people I'm with now _and you_ ," Lucifer clarified. "You're my family. My brother. How many times am I going to have to say this before you get it? Michael... isn't, not emotionally, not here," he waved vaguely towards his heart, "Neither is... okay, anyone from home, basically. I hate them and I'm justified in hating them. But I don't hate you, I could _never_ hate you." Lucifer frowned. "Well, actually, when I walked in here I hated you a little, but bygones and all that."

Gabriel took a second to absorb that, understand it, accept it, then allowed himself a small grin. "So," he said. "I hear there's a girl in your life?"

Lucifer laughed. "You want to meet her?" he offered. "I'm sure she'll be ecstatic to meet someone from my past. She's dying to figure out who I was before I started calling myself the Devil."

"You _know_ I'm going to have to call you Sam in front of her," Gabriel joked, and Lucifer _knew_ it was a joke, though he couldn't stop himself from tensing. "Hey, hey, I wouldn't— I won't do that. I know that name, that _person_ , isn't who you are anymore. I know that now. Sorry, by the way, for— before. For the way I was acting and talking to you, demanding... you know. When you first got here."

"You had your orders," Lucifer said, accepting the apology for what it was. "I know better than most how difficult it is to go against them."

Lucifer straightened his suit, then reached over to adjust Gabriel's. He looked at Gabriel for a moment, just taking him in. Lucifer knew what he thought of him when he walked in, but— yes, okay, Gabriel was shorter than him, his hair was lighter, everything about him was _less_ , but.

But, that wasn't bad, exactly.

It was just different.

And he was _in his suit_ , Lucifer's suit; his little brother was wrapped up in Lucifer's clothes. It was... nice. To look at, to see. It reminded him of the past, but not in a way that made him want to die, the way reminiscing usually made him feel.

"C'mon," he said, finally. They walked out of the interrogation room, and almost instantly Lucifer spotted Chloe across the room, gazing towards the door they just walked out of, eyes finally off of the computer. He smiled, just at the corners of his mouth, and headed towards her.

"Wait, Luci," Gabriel said, grabbing his arm. "I know you've already... made a lot of reassurances, but. Are you sure? That you're okay with this?"

Lucifer rolled his eyes, not bothering with an answer. Instead, he kept walking, leaving Gabriel no choice but to follow behind him. It was as much an answer as anything else would've been.

"Detective," he said cheerfully, and could not fight off the beaming smile. "How are you doing on this lovely day?" 

Her eyes crinkled as she smiled back, but Lucifer noticed the way they quickly flickered towards Gabriel then back to him, expecting an explanation. "Right. Introductions. Gabriel, this is Chloe, my detective. Detective, this is Gabriel, my brother."

"How many brothers do you have?" Chloe asked, then flushed as she realized she said it out loud. She turned to Gabriel, sticking a hand out. "It's nice to meet you, Gabriel."

He gingerly shook it, like he was worried about hurting her. "Yes, hi, it's—" Gabriel glanced worriedly at Lucifer, then managed to overcome whatever anxiety he was feeling, "nice to meet you too. I've heard, uh. Actually nothing about you, since I haven't talked to Luce in years, but I imagine if I _had_ I would've heard a lot about you. All nice things. Presumably."

"Right," said Chloe. She looked at Lucifer. "So, uh. We have a case, by the way. We should... probably head out to the crime scene." 

Lucifer had been expecting that, but had to admit he was a little disappointed— a stark difference from his earlier attitude. "Can Gabriel come?" he asked, because he didn't want this to be the end. Because it turned out he really wanted to learn how Gabriel had been spending the past few millennia, and he wanted— time, more of it, time that he _couldn't get_ if Gabriel didn't tag along. Lucifer had a sneaking suspicion that if he left, Gabriel would be long gone by the time he returned. "I promise he won't get in the way."

Chloe looked at Gabriel again, vaguely skeptical. He was a bit of a mess, in a suit that was a touch too big, so Lucifer supposed her reaction was reasonable.

"Oh, Luci, um," Gabriel stammered, "no. You don't need to— I don't want to interfere—"

"You're going to be gone soon," Lucifer said. "I haven't seen you in half an eternity, so you can't blame me for wanting to spend as much time with you as I can."

"Of course I can't blame you for it, but I can hardly go to a police crime scene, I'm not a cop," said Gabriel.

Chloe nodded. "I agree with him."

"By that same logic, _I_ can't go to a crime scene either, which is—"

"—true—"

"—completely ludicrous," corrected Lucifer. He reached over and clapped his hand down on Gabriel's shoulder, startling him a little; he instinctively flinched away, then came back to his senses and leaned into the touch.

Chloe watched the movement with narrowed eyes, gaze flickering between the two brothers. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Finally, she sighed, and said, "Okay." Despite her tone — resigned, distantly annoyed — she looked vaguely pleased. No doubt she was hoping for dirt on Lucifer, or some sort of proof he wasn't really the Devil. He didn't think she would ever believe him, not unless he showed her his face, and Lucifer was disinclined to do that; there'd be no point in convincing her, if the act of proving it made her lose her mind.

"Okay!" said Lucifer, clapping his hands together. "Let's go."

Chloe's eyebrows raised. "You're surprisingly enthusiastic," she said, even as she grabbed her badge and gun.

Gabriel eyed the gun as she stuck it into her holster, looking somewhat uneasy. Lucifer frowned, checking to see if there was something in particular that bothered him. He knew Gabriel had been on Earth before, what with him being the Messenger, so perhaps he'd had a bad experience with a gun?

She glanced between them. "Ready to go?" asked Chloe, when neither moved.

"Right, yes, of course," said Lucifer. He grabbed Gabriel by the arm, leading him out of the building. Neither spoke, though they didn't need to; they talked with their eyes instead, asked _are you okay_ , said _of course I am_.

For now, it would be enough.

**Author's Note:**

> this story(? chapter? the original idea was multiple chapters so we'll see what happens) is 3.2k!
> 
> you can find me on tumblr at [laniemoriarty](https://laniemoriarty.tumblr.com)!


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